Susan Cain

Hi, I'm Susan Cain, author of the forthcoming book, "QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" (Crown Publishers in the U.S., Viking/Penguin in the U.K., Jan. 2012).

Before I became a writer, I practiced corporate law for seven years, representing clients like Goldman Sachs and General Electric. Then I started a negotiation consultancy, training all kinds of people, from hedge fund managers to TV producers to college students negotiating their first salaries. My clients have included Merrill Lynch, Shearman & Sterling, One Hundred Women in Hedge Funds, and many more. I went to Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

From this you might guess that I'm a hardcore, wonderfully self-confident, pound-the-table kind of person, when in fact I'm just the opposite. I prefer listening to talking, reading to socializing, and cozy chats to group settings. I like to think before I speak (softly). I've never given a speech without being terrified first. And somehow I know that everything I've ever accomplished, in love and in work, I owe to these traits, annoying though they may sometimes be. I've explored this paradox in my book.

I live on the banks of the Hudson River in an 1822 captain's cottage with my beloved husband and sons. My favorite activities are reading, writing, lounging around cafés, and doing the mambo with my family. I use a lot of old-fashioned expressions. A few times a year, I try to like cooking. I'm insatiably curious about human nature. I'm a proud member of the Invisible Institute, a small authors group whose members include Pulitzer Prize winners, New York Times bestselling authors, and some of the most inspiring human beings in New York City.

Twelve years ago, I walked into a cafe, laptop in hand, to begin a grand adventure.
My adventure did not involve swords, dragons or golden cups; it didn’t require me to hike the Appalachian trail or steer a boat solo across the world. All I had to do was sip a cappuccino and tap away at my keyboard. After years of detour as a corporate lawyer, I was finally allowing myself to reach that mythical state of being I’d dreamed of since age four: becoming “a writer.”
Believe me

Remember when I said I was launching a Quiet Revolution? My startup is in full swing, and we’ve got a number of interesting jobs we’re looking to fill as we prepare the groundwork for our launch. Here’s one! Please send your cover letter and resume to jobs (at) quietrev.com.
Thanks,
Susan Digital Editorial Content Manager
Are you a detail-oriented digital native who knows the blogging world like the back of your hand? We’re looking for you!
About

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In honor of Arianna Huffington’s marvelous book THRIVE, I want to write about a very specific aspect of well-being: freedom from fear of sharing one’s ideas.
In researching my book, QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, I met a scientist performing groundbreaking work on social anxiety disorder. A charming, articulate man, he confided that his interest in the field came from his own struggles with shyness. B

Click the image below to access a great tool for assessing your strengths — and then creating a life that draws on them:
NOTE: If you don’t want to give your personal info, just make up a name/email address…but this is a very reputable, research-based organization.
I’ve posted my top 5 strengths below — would you share yours, and also mention whether you’re an introvert or extrovert? (and your Myers-Briggs type, if you know it?) Curious to see whether any patterns emerge.

I contributed to @TIME‘s #TIMEIdeas issue with a 140-character idea to improve the world. My idea:
Introverts today are roughly where women were 50 years ago. Time for a Quiet Revolution! | 26 more #TIMEIdeas @ http://t.co/HVBfYbwmm2
— Susan Cain (@susancain) March 13, 2014

How would you contribute to the Quiet Revolution? Tweet me your ideas w/hashtag #QuietRev. Tweets about “#QuietRev”

Is a quiet revolution catching on in Congress? Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan is encouraging meditation through his “Quiet Caucus”. Want more stories like this?
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Illustration by Jenny Yu
The American obsession with class participation, from a non-American perspective: “School in America was easy, assignments sent in by e-mail; classrooms air-conditioned, professors willing to give make-up tests. But she was uncomfortable with what the professors called “participation,” and did not see why it should be part of the final grade; it merely made students talk and talk, class time wasted on obvious words, hollow words, sometimes meaningless w

Yitang Zhang, admittedly shy, is facing the uncomfortable glare of the spotlight after recently solving one of math’s great problems. Click here for his astounding story.
Photography provided by Shutterstock. Want more stories like this?
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The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence, by the great and good @AdamGrant ▶▶ http://t.co/JXy7XuTFAG— Susan Cain (@susancain) January 24, 2014 Want more stories like this?
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In the West, passivity is a transgression. To be “passive,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means to be “acted upon by an external agency.” It also means to be “submissive.” Gandhi himself ultimately rejected the phrase “passive resistance,” which he associated with weakness, preferring satyagraha, the term he coined to mean “firmness in pursuit of truth.”
But as the word satyagraha im<

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Excerpt from “Quiet” | Chapter: “Wonderland”
“Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you’re supposed to. Stay home on New Year’s Eve if that’s what makes you happy. Skip the committee meeting. Cross the street to avoid making aimless chitchat with random acquaintances. Read. Cook. Run. Write a story. Make a deal with yourself that you’ll attend a set number of social events in exchange for not feeling guilty when you beg

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Hi all — My team is gathering stories for/about introverted kids for a new project. Hoping to connect with kids (between the ages of ten and fifteen) and parents who would be willing to spend a few minutes on the phone sharing their experiences (especially boys, as we’ve already talked to many girls.). Names and certain personal details would be changed to protect identities. If you’re interested, please contact me at Susan AT ThePowerOfIntroverts D

Regina Dugan, former Director of DARPA (and deliverer of one of my favorite TED talks), on the importance of quiet to the creative process: Want more stories like this?
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More like this: Inspirational Quotes

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Hello, friends! I’d love to personalize and autograph a copy of QUIET for you or to give as a gift. I’ve partnered with a wonderful indie bookstore who will fulfill the orders.
To purchase your autographed copy of the hardback or paperback, please call the bookstore directly at 845.358.9126. Multiple copies are available on request. Worldwide shipping of the US version is available to most countries.
Autographed copies will be processed right away. Personali

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On every workday morning for as long as I can remember, I’ve started the day by mentally running through my calendar to determine how many meetings are scheduled. On the days with no meetings, I breathe a huge, exultant sigh of relief. Because I know I can actually get something DONE! I can get into flow without worrying that I have to stop at 10:45 am and then again at 12:30. Meetings thwart creativity because th

Hi all — please check out this Kickstarter campaign by Kathryn Harper for a lovely children’s book about shyness. I’ve donated and hope the awareness brought by this post will help her reach her goal by the end of the day. Want more stories like this?
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Dear Readers,
I hope you enjoy this poem by the gifted Amber Rens (who is only 17! though you’d never guess it from her words.)
Between these Lines
the smell of printers ink the rustle of ancient pages thumbed through carelessly I am here, if anyone cares to look but they don’t. why should they when I won’t leave this sanctum, my written refuge, where voices whisper to me so soothingly?
the kings o

Perfect description of the creative process from @MarcusRomer: Post by Susan Cain. Want more stories like this?
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Originally tweeted by: @MarcusRomer
More like this @ Creativity

“Networking for Introverts” — in which I chat with the lovely Marie Forleo on MarieTV. Want more stories like this?
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Video source: MarieForleo.com
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This is one of the most interesting ideas I’ve come across in a long time, from a New York Times piece by Samuel Scheffler:
Suppose you knew that although you yourself would live a long life and die peacefully in your sleep, the earth and all its inhabitants would be destroyed 30 days after your death in a collision with a giant asteroid. How would this knowledge affect you?
If you are like me, and like most peop

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Insightful post from Jonathan Fields on the right and wrong reasons for dreaming of becoming a writer/actor/fill in the blank…
Here’s a sneak peek:
“Scenario #1:
Hey, why are you writing a book?
Because, I want to get published. Then people will take me seriously. Millions of people will know what I’ve got to say. And they’ll see I’m an author. And I’ll build a huge career writing and speaking and traveling…
And, what if you write the

Wow. This is an incredible study of personality styles, based on the language that people with different personality traits use in their Facebook posts.
The researchers analyzed 700 million words and phrases collected from the Facebook messages of 75,000 volunteers, and found fascinating differences between the posts of introverts and extroverts, men and women, etc. Would love to hear your thoughts about the study! For me, the findings weren’t always substantively surprising,

Stop “networking” and start searching for kindred spirits! Robyn Scott, owner of a company called “Intros” and author of “The Power of Quiet Connectors“, says that the best connectors are private, modest, and low-key.
Enjoy this excerpt from Robyn’s article — then click through at the end to read more.
Susan Cain Follow @SusanCain Susan Cain “We (Robyn Scott’s company,

Susan Cain
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Typically sensitive NY Times essay from the lovely Priscilla Gilman, on her autistic son confronting social expectations of the teen years: The night before his 13th birthday, Benj came to the door of my office and knocked in his typically abrupt way. “Mommy, I need to talk to you,” he said. “I’m really worried about tomorrow.” Benj is on the autism spectrum, and special days cause him more than the usual trepidation. I rushed in with rea